Pocket 10's in the BB... how'd I do? - Page 2

Ed Miller · #1 03-12-2003, 07:34 AM

I would have bet the river as well. I don't know why he didn't bet the river with 2 pair after you checked...

He didn't bet because our hero's postflop play looked like a free card play with diamonds... and diamonds got there. He was planning to check-call.

lil' · #2 03-12-2003, 11:33 AM

Heads up I tend to go full speed ahead a lot of the time, unless I know my opponent is skilled. I get called with nothing but overcards much of the time. However, you are right; he probably should take advantage of his position here and check his 10's.

anatta · #3 03-12-2003, 05:04 AM

In general, you should prefer to bet the turn and check the river for a free showdown, rather than check the turn and give your opponent a free card. Checking the turn is not so bad if only 1 or 2 overcards beat you, but a hand like yours is vulnerable and should be protected. What you want to avoid is what happened here, your opponent would have been making a mistake if he called your turn bet, but since you didn't bet, he saw the river for free.

Everyone gets check-raised on the turn, and nobody likes it holding just one pair, but if you want to be good at this game, you got to be STRONG on the turn!

BTW, your opponent checked the river because your turn check looked like a free card on a flush draw.

morgan · #4 03-12-2003, 01:25 PM

"...if you want to be good at this game, you got to be STRONG on the turn!"

I'm trying to strengthen my game. If only I could just lift some weights or something. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

"BTW, your opponent checked the river because your turn check looked like a free card on a flush draw."

I thought about this before my reply to lil', and decided my opponent shouldn't have been afraid of the flush since I wouldn't want to clear the field on the flop. But now I realize I could very well have played the same way on a flush draw. So I can't really say my opponent played worse than I did. I definately made the big mistakes.

Thanks for the comments,

Morgan

PokerPrince · #5 03-12-2003, 06:08 AM

Bet the turn, check the river. You don't want to give a drawing hand free cards.

With only two limpers and SB preflop I think raising with 10's would be a smart play here. Your hand definately figures to be the best at this point.

PokerPrince

morgan · #6 03-12-2003, 01:30 PM

"With only two limpers and SB preflop I think raising with 10's would be a smart play here. Your hand definately figures to be the best at this point."

Hmmm... My play lately has been to play 10's cheaply. Someone pointed out to me that S&M talk about this in their loose games section of HPFAP. However I still raise with J's. And not raising with 10's just feels wrong, so I want to agree with you...

Thanks,

Morgan

Ed Miller · #7 03-12-2003, 07:27 AM

The flop raise is good, but you have to follow it up with a turn bet. You were banking on your opponent betting a draw when you raised the flop. You got the result you wanted... now don't give him a free card on the turn! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] You can fold to a checkraise, so you can feel free to bet away on the turn.

As for the river... if I had to guess, it looks like your opponent has a J and is now afraid that you made a free card play on diamonds. You might want to fire out a bet as a combination value bet/bluff.... you might get called by a worse hand, and you might get a J to fold.

Homer · #8 03-12-2003, 10:20 AM

I would bet the turn to avoid giving a free card, then check it through on the river. I assume you were prepared to call a river bet, given that you set your opponent up to bluff the river?

An added bonus of betting the turn and checking behind on the river is that sometimes when an opponent's drawing hand gets there, they will try to checkraise you, and you can check it through.

-- Homer

morgan · #9 03-12-2003, 01:43 PM

"I would bet the turn to avoid giving a free card, then check it through on the river."

I agree betting the turn is a must. I also am starting to think checking it through on the river might have been good (well, maybe not after checking behind on the turn, but you know what I mean). But there seems to be contrasting points of view on this.

"I assume you were prepared to call a river bet, given that you set your opponent up to bluff the river?"

Definately.

"An added bonus of betting the turn and checking behind on the river is that sometimes when an opponent's drawing hand gets there, they will try to checkraise you, and you can check it through."

I think this is the deciding factor for me on checking the river (assuming I've bet the turn).

Thanks for the advice Homer,

Morgan

p.s. I thought this past Sunday's Simpsons was back up to par. The Fox news bit was hilarious. Also -- what episode does your signiture quote appear in?

Homer · #10 03-12-2003, 01:52 PM

I would bet the river for value against certain opponents, assuming the river was a brick. Okay, enough of this poker stuff...

I don't remember what episode my quote is from. To tell you the truth I just thought of the line and went to www.snpp.com (great site) and typed "high-low" in their search engine.

I actually thought last Sunday's episode was horrible, but I am difficult to please. I watch the new episodes every week and wonder why the hell I am still tuning in. It is like watching your favorite athlete, who was a superstar, but is now a few years past his prime. You can't help but watch even though it is painful to do so. You're just hoping to see a nice play that will remind you of his past greatness.

-- Homer